ENUGU, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA)- The founding National Chairman of the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), Chief Chekwas Okorie, has said that the growing wave of defections by opposition governors and politicians into the ruling All Progressives Congress, (APC) , is largely motivated by fear of prosecution from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, (EFCC).
Speaking in an interview, Okorie noted that many of the defecting governors are seeking refuge in the ruling party to avoid investigation for alleged corruption after leaving office.
“Most of the governors rushing into the APC from opposition parties are doing so because of the belief that they will be protected from the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission, EFCC, at the end of their tenures,” Okorie said.
He further stated, “Without wanting to sound disrespectful, many of them have compromised their offices and committed crimes using their privileged positions.
“They currently enjoy immunity because of Section 308 of the Constitution. The fear of humiliation when the EFCC swoops on them after losing this immunity has become the beginning of wisdom for most of them.”
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Okorie, however, argued that joining the APC does not guarantee safety from prosecution.
“Running into the ruling party seems to them as a safe net for protection. But that has not protected anyone really,” he added.
He pointed out that many former governors who sought refuge in the APC after completing their terms still failed to win senatorial elections or secure relevance.
“There were about six governors who, after administering their states for eight straight years, failed in their bid to represent their senatorial districts.
“Most are still roaming the streets; only one managed to get an appointment with the presidency,” he said.
Describing the trend as “embarrassing and a setback for democracy,” Okorie blamed the National Assembly for failing to enforce laws that would make defection punishable.
“Our National Assembly has the stigma of being a rubber stamp of the executive. Otherwise, the issue of defection should have been resolved long ago,” he said.
According to him, the law should make it clear that once a public officeholder leaves the party platform under which they were elected, their seat automatically becomes vacant.
“That way, INEC can conduct a fresh election, and if the person wants to contest on a new platform, they can do so. If the people vote them back, fine. But what we have now is crude and self-serving,” he stated.